


A Case Study

by silver_drip



Series: Spiraling 'verse [3]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Asgard's Laws, Court Case, Gen, Theoretical situation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 16:59:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2819543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_drip/pseuds/silver_drip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An in-depth theoretical look at the Asgard vs Amora Nisdottir case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Case Study

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cara_tanaka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cara_tanaka/gifts).



> I left all my law books at Uni so I'm doing the layout from memory.
> 
> Hope this clarifies a few things for you, cara_tanaka. (Though it is meant to not answer everything)

* * *

**A (very) informal/theoretical[case study](http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/case-studies/) on chapter [19](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2354360/chapters/6322928) of Our Paths Unfold.  
**

**Notes: I'll be providing explanations of appeals and fallacies throughout the study, along with links to a more in depth definitions. The circumstances are slightly different with the addition of Lord Phen acting as the prosecutor, changing the whole case/scene.  
**

* * *

 

**Key Players:**

  * **Odin All-Father: Judge, jury, and executioner**
  * **Amora Nisdottir: Defendant/the accused**
  * **Anthony Howrdson: Defense lawyer (informal)**
  * **Lord Phen: Prosecutor (informal)**
  * **Lord Vlats: Former Council Member, former lover of Amora**
  * **Thor Odinson: Former lover of Amora**
  * **Various Council Members: Onlookers that Odin theoretically has to pander to**



**Facts:**

  * **Law Broken: Travel from Asgard must  be authorized by the All-Father and done so through the Bifrost. (Law type:[Statutory Law](http://www.diffen.com/difference/Common_Law_vs_Statutory_Law) one put in place rather than having evolved over time.)  
**
  * **Law Broken: Evading Arrest. (Law type:[Common Law](http://www.diffen.com/difference/Common_Law_vs_Statutory_Law) a rule that has evolved over time via various past court cases ([Precedents](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precedent)))**
  * **Amora admits to breaking both these laws**
  * **Tony admits to breaking the first law, but not the latter**



 

* * *

 

**Transcript:**

**Lord Phen:** All-Father, Lord Anthony and Lady Amora should not be tried in the same case. 

**Lord Anthony:** I disagree. We both knowingly went against your edict fully knowing we were breaking the law.

**Lord Phen:** That is true, but the very fact that Lady Amora is wearing shackles and you aren't shows that you turned yourself in while Amora continuously ran away from Aesir justice, breaking a separate law.

**Lord Anthony:** She shouldn't be tried for that though. She came here today willingly.

**Lord Phen:** Her coming here today willingly does not supersede the fact that she resisted arrest for various years, wasting Aesir resources, guards' time, and blatantly snubbing the law. All-Father, what say you?

**Odin All-Father:** They shall be tried separately.

* * *

**Lord Anthony's Argument:**

  * Amora fled Asgard because she feared for her life. **(This argument is heavily reliant on[pathos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathos)\- emotion based rhetoric tool of persuasion. ) **



 

**Reasoning:**

  * The day her indiscretion was found out by Thor the skies turned pitch black with thunder and lightning produced by Thor.
  * Thor is a powerful warrior.
  * Amora is a weak mage in comparison.
  * Thor has great political power while Amora has very little.
  * Thor is known for having a short temper.
  * Amora went to Niflheim to find Tony for protection.
  * She went to a House of Hvit to keep herself safe.
  * Her fear only grew as she was continuously hunted down.
  * Amora was actually in a relationship with Lord Vlats and it was Thor who was the 'other man'.
  * Lord Vlats was fine with her seeing other men.
  * Lord Vlats was exiled because he was sleeping with Amora.
  * Amora found Lord Vlats dead shortly after she fled Asgard.



 

**Lord Phen's Counter-Argument:**

  * Amora did not actually fear for her life. She used that lie as an excuse to break the law in order to not face the consequences of her indiscretions.  **(This counter-argument relies heavily on[ethos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethos)\- the character of an individual, as in if they are a good/honest person, liar, or anywhere in between. This counter-argument also relies somewhat on [logos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logos#Aristotle.27s_rhetorical_logos)\- logical appeals.)**



 

**Reasoning:**

  * Mjolnir reacts to any negative emotions. Just because the skies were black and there was thunder does not necessarily mean he was angry. Sadness and despair both cause the skies to blacken and thunder bolts.
  * Amora specializes in evasive spells, making her a difficult target for any true warrior.
  * Relative political power is irrelevant because Thor is too honorable to use that to his advantage. The fact that he has found companionship with someone of a lower house proves that.
  * Thor's anger has only been used against the enemies of Asgard.
  * Amora's motives for going to Niflheim and a House of Hvit are made up. She was not scared of Thor's supposed 'wrath'. She used that as an excuse to leave Asgard to learn more spells, as she has done many times before. This is not the first time she has illegally traveled between realms.
  * Had she not continuously evaded justice any supposed misunderstandings would have been put to rest long ago. Thor was merely doing his duty by trying to capture her. No one can fault him for following an order from the All-Father.
  * Lord Vlats being fine with Amora seeing other men is [Hearsay](https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/objection-hearsay-what-is-the-hearsay-rule-and-what-are-the-exceptions-to-it) (quoting someone who is not in court). There is no way we can know if either Prince Thor or Lord Vlats was the 'other man'. Who the 'other man' is, is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that Thor was unaware that Amora was sleeping with anyone else.
  * Lord Vlats was exiled for other reasons. Just because the exile coincided with Amora's indiscretions does not mean that was the reason he was exiled. ([correlation/causation fallacy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation) just because two things happened at once does not mean that one caused the other.)
  * It is unknown if Lord Vlats is really dead. All we have to rely on is the word of the accused.



 

**Lord Anthony's Counter-Argument:**

  *  If it is the case that Amora broke this law various times before then there must be another reason as to why she fled this time while she did not flee all the other times she broke this law. The only reason an individual would exile herself from the comfort of her own home and realm would be out of fear. **(This argument is a balance of pathos, logos, and ethos appeals.)**



 

**Reasoning:**

  * Mjolnir does react to negative emotions, but anyone who was there on the night in question would be a liar if they said the skies were storming because of sadness or despair. Anger was Thor's only companion that day.
  * Amora can preform evasive spells, but it would only take one hit from Mjolnir to disable her.
  * As Lord Phen stated: 'This is not the first time she has illegally traveled between realms.' yet she was never tried for those instances. It was only after her affair was found out that the court decided to bring charges.
  * Regardless of whether or not it was Thor's duty to find her it was seen as a threatening action.
  * In actuality it was not his duty to 'hunt her down'. There have been many other Aesir nobles who broke this law yet were neither tried nor hunted down by Prince Thor. This was a personal matter disguised as official business. Thor abused his position in order to get petty revenge. **(This line of reasoning is dangerous because it implies that the All-Father abused his position as well.)**
  * The fact that Lord Vlats is dead can easily be obtained by dispatching a few guards to investigate the matter. The point is that Amora was already scared for her life, and finding out that Lord Vlats had died violently only intensified that fear, spurring her to seek asylum wherever she could.
  * The penalty for illegally traveling the realms is paltry compared to the hardships Amora went through because she thought that Thor capturing her would result in physical or mental harm outside of the legal system.
  * She only willingly surrendered this time because someone she trusted (Tony) was there instead of just Thor, the Warriors Three, and possibly Sif.



 

* * *

 

 

**Transcript:**

**Lord Phen:** Regardless of her supposed motives the facts still remain that she broke two laws, wasted Aesir resources, and blatantly went against the All-Father's wishes.

**Lord Anthony:** A fitting verdict cannot be given without a thorough understanding of Amora's reasons for fleeing and seeking asylum.

**Lord Phen:** She still broke the-

**Lord Anthony:** Yes, but it wasn't until her relationship with Thor turned sour that she was charged with illegally traveling the realms despite the fact that, according to you, she had done so many times before.

**Lord Phen:** So far all you've done is make excuses. Lady Amora has yet to even speak for herself.

**Lady Amora:** It is as Tony says. I was very scared, but it was more than just that. Initially I was only scared for my life, but as time went on my fear grew and changed. During my time away from Asgard I came to realize how much Thor means to me. I felt so guilty for hurting him that I punished myself by abandoning all my belongings and even cut my hair. Part of the reason I kept running away was because I was scared to see Thor's face. If... if I saw that he hated me I would be devastated beyond repair. It's only now that I realize that by protecting myself I hurt the one person I care for more than myself. All-Father, it is not only your forgiveness that I need to beg for, but for Thor's as well.

 

* * *

 

**Closing Statements:**

**Lord Anthony:** Amora admits to breaking these two laws, but she did not do so in bad faith. Even if Thor truly meant no harm she was unaware of that. All the actions Amora took were born of fear for her own safety- a fear that was only strengthened when she found out that her lover had died violently under mysterious circumstances. It would be cruel to punish her for protecting herself, yet the All-Father cannot completely overlook these misdemeanors.

**Lord Phen:** Lord Anthony has painted the picture of a scared Aesir girl running away from the big, bad bilgesnipe, yet this is not the reality of the case. Lady Amora knowingly broke the laws with the knowledge of what the consequences would be. Her punishment should not be lessened just because of a few sob stories and soft words.

 

* * *

 

 

**Odin's Considerations:**

  * If he punishes her harshly it will make him look weak and corrupt to his council members and to any citizens that hear about it.
  * If he punishes her too leniently any ulterior motives for prosecution would be left unfulfilled.
  * Whatever punishment he sets down will set a [precedents](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precedent) for Lord Anthony's coming trial.
  * Must take into account Thor's emotions towards Amora.
  * Must take into account Tony's motives for defending Amora.



 

**Most Likely Conclusion:** A lenient punishment with just enough bite to make it clear that going against the All-Father's wishes will not go unnoticed or unpunished.

**Author's Note:**

> Once again this was just a theoretical look at the case in chapter 19. 
> 
> [Link to chapter 20 of Our Paths Unfold](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2354360/chapters/6392123)


End file.
